Here's How You Will Annihilate The Competition With Your Dragon In Scalebound

Scalebound is still soaring toward an exclusive launch on the Xbox One and, to help get everyone ready for all of that dragon-fueled carnage, Microsoft has released the first gameplay trailer showing off how players will put the hurt on their enemies with the help of a winged friend.

Now that we’re in full Gamescom mode, it’s exciting to see trailers like this one popping up in quick succession. We first learned about Scalebound during Microsoft’s 2014 E3 press conference but, unfortunately, the new offering from PlatinumGames and director Hideki Kamiya was a no-show at this year’s event.

Microsoft promised Scalebound would be ready to show off during Gamescom however and, today, they’ve made good on that promise.

If you haven’t clicked play on that video yet, you’ve got nearly six minutes of action to look forward to, showing off some small chunks of story and plenty of action. I got an extreme Drakengard vibe, which isn’t a bad sign in the least. So long as it’s nothing like Lair, I think we’ll be just fine.

Our seemingly anachronistic hero swoops into combat on the back of his scaly pal with a pair of headphones wrapped around his neck and an arm that looks like its caught a bad case of the dragon skins. This Dante-esque hero and his dragon also seem to have a love-hate relationship, which seems perfect for this kind of setup.

As for the action, it should come as no surprise that Scalebound is combo-heavy. This is the team that made Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, after all, so expect lots of sword swipes, flipping around, and sword swipes while flipping around.

Before long, a whole bunch of ranged enemies pop onto the scene, at which point we find out that you’ll also have a bow and exploding arrows at your disposal.

My favorite part of all, though, is how your dragon stays active the entire time. He doesn’t swoop onto the scene when called, wreck some fools and then take off. Instead, he fights by your side, stomping baddies, destroying spawn points and breathing fire like a general badass.

We soon learn that your dragon isn’t the only hulking beast on the playground, though, as a giant insect-looking creature leaps onto the scene to pose a challenge. Now’s the player’s turn to take on more of a support role, taking pot shots, setting traps and even unleashing some special moves to help the dragon tackle the beast.

All in all, it looks exactly like what we’d expect out of Platinum: Fast, frantic and fun. Still no word on a release date yet, but at least we now have a better idea of what we’ll be playing whenever Scalebount finally flies onto the Xbox One.